1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to utensils such as knives. More particularly, the present invention concerns a utensil having a wooden handle and an elongated, metal working element (e.g., a knife blade) projecting from the handle, with there being no exposed wood-metal interface on the utensil such that the utensil has none of the cavities and cracks normally associated with such an interface. That is to say, the present invention particularly concerns a wooden handle utensil design that significantly reduces the risk of microorganism growth on the utensil.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Those ordinarily skilled in the art will appreciate that utensils having a wooden handle are desirable for numerous reasons. For example, users will often prefer a wooden handle because it is believed that wood is more attractive than other materials (e.g., metal or plastic). A utensil handle constructed of wood is also believed to improve comfort and secure gripping of the utensil, especially when the handle is wet. That is to say, the natural fibers of the wood will often cause the gripping surface to have a slightly roughened or textured quality. When the wood is wet, the fibers become even more aggressive and actually improve gripping of the wet handle. This is especially effective in industrial applications (e.g., use in a restaurant, grocery store, or meat processing plant), wherein the user is likely to handle the utensil in wet conditions. Moreover, industrial users will often wear a knit glove during handling of the knife, and the fibers of the wooden handle and the cloth fibers of the gloves will often create a hook-and-loop fastening effect that secures the utensil to the glove.
However, wooden handle utensils have heretofore been susceptible to microorganism contamination. That is to say, a conventional wooden handle utensil is typically incapable of being sufficiently cleaned of microorganisms by traditional washing techniques (e.g., soaking and/or scrubbing, placement in a standard household or industrial dishwasher, etc.). Those ordinarily skilled in the art will particularly appreciate that the wood-metal interface cooperatively defined by the wooden handle and the metal working element (e.g., knife blade) will present numerous cracks and/or cavities, even though the traditional interface is intentionally designed to be an abutting interengagement or joining of the blade and handle. It is noted that these spaces are in part attributable to the interstices defined within the wood. In any case, undesirable microorganisms are capable of proliferating within these small spaces, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to rid these spaces of such contamination. In this respect, wooden handle utensils are often banned from industrial use, thereby requiring workers to use the less preferred plastic handle utensils.
Responsive to these and other problems, an important object of the present invention is to provide a wooden handle utensil that is much less susceptible than conventional utensils, if not completely unsusceptible, to contamination by undesirable microorganisms. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a wooden handle utensil that can be used in virtually all industrial applications, without risking contamination of the food products as a result of microorganism growth on the utensil.
In accordance with these and other objects evident from the following description of the preferred embodiment, the present invention concerns a wooden handle utensil having a metal working element, such as a knife blade, projecting from the handle. The outer surface of the utensil has no exposed wood-metal interface along its outer surface, thereby virtually eliminating the risk of microorganism growth on the utensil. The preferred handle includes an element-receiving slot, in which the working element is partly received, and an outer edge circumscribing the slot and being spaced from the element. A synthetic resin filler is preferably set within the gap defined between the outer edge of the handle and the working element. Moreover, the filler bonds to the handle and working element so that none of the undesirable exposed cracks and/or cavities are presented on the utensil.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.